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Rays lose pitchers’ duel with Rangers, split four-game series
- Updated: May 10, 2015
Usually steady reliever Kevin Jepsen stumbled Sunday afternoon against the Rangers.
Jepsen walked the first two batters of the eighth inning and surrendered Adrian Beltre’s winning single in the Rays’ 2-1 loss in front of an announced crowd of 14,521 at Tropicana Field.
The low-scoring affair started with a pitchers’ duel between Rays starter Jake Odorizzi and Texas’ Wandy Rodriguez.
Odorizzi struck out seven in 62/3 strong innings and was able to get out of almost every jam he encountered. The exception came in the fourth, when he fell behind 2-and-0 to Beltre. Texas’ third baseman took the third pitch over the centerfield wall for his 398th career home run. It was the first home run Odorizzi had allowed this season, snapping his stretch of 442/3 innings.
Rodriguez was even more impressive for the Rangers. He carried a perfect game through five innings, extending his streak of retired batters to a club-record 34. At least one of those outs was controversial.
With one out in the fifth, Rodriguez threw an inside curveball to Joey Butler, who tried to check his swing. Umpire Mike Estabrook called it a strike, prompting some displeased reactions from the Rays’ dugout.
Estabrook and the Rays (17-15) exchanged words, with Estabrook giving hitting coach Derek Shelton his first ejection in his 11-year career. Manager Kevin Cash was also thrown out, for the second time in his brief career, and added some flair by kicking dirt at the plate before leaving the field.
The theatrics didn’t add much of a spark initially; Rodriguez struck out the side in the fifth.
But the Rays’ only jolts of offense came the next inning, starting with rookie Tim Beckham’s leadoff single to left that ended Rodriguez’s club-record streak. Brandon Guyer tied the score at 1 by singling to left to score Kevin Kiermaier from second. Steven Souza Jr. drew a walk to load the basis, but the threat was over when Evan Longoria lined into an inning-ending double play.
Odorizzi — whose start was postponed a day because of flu-like symptoms — pitched into the seventh, where he gave up two of his seven hits. He left with runners at the corners, and Beckham’s diving play at second base saved a run and ended the inning.
Texas took the lead for good the next inning against Jepsen. He missed a borderline pitch and walked Elvis Andrus then walked Prince Fielder on a full count. Beltre made the mistakes costly by singling to left to score the winner and force the Rays to settle for a series split.
The Rays open a four-game series at home Monday against the Yankees.
